AUTHOR'S NOTE: If this chapter seems distinctly weird, there is a good reason for it. This is also an Evangelion fanfic-it's supposed to be weird. Note that this scene is based on the first chapter of the "Shinji Ikari Raising Project," Volume 12. And by based, I mean almost word for word...but again, there's a good reason.
The four of them stood before a building. It was a beautiful day in Tokyo-3, with barely a cloud in the sky, but the humidity was blessedly lower than usual. It was, Riana reflected, perfect.
"See?" Misato said. "Doesn't that look nice?"
"What is this place?" Shinji asked.
"I think it's an ice rink," Rei replied.
Misato began walking towards the building—which was indeed an ice rink—and motioned the three teenagers forward. "You see, I realized I haven't been ice skating in awhile, and suddenly really wanted to. And when I mentioned it casually to the Commander, he said, "Fine idea, Major!" and got tickets for everyone."
"So you got Dad to pay for your whims on the condition that you dragged us into it," Shinji said. He shook his head.
Asuka looked morose. "Look, I know everyone is an inclusive term…but does it have to include her?" And she pointed directly at Riana.
It was then that Riana realized something was not quite right. For one thing, she had seen Shinji, Asuka and Misato all dress casually around the apartment during the short time she was there, but Riana had never seen Rei in anything besides her school uniform or a plugsuit. Yet here she was wearing a short dress and an interesting ensemble of shirt and tie. For another thing, everyone was speaking Japanese…and Riana was able to understand every word.
"Well, actually, it does, Asuka," Misato was saying. "The rest of you have no experience ice skating, whereas Riana is an expert."
"I am?" When Misato suddenly glared at her, Riana gulped and added, "Uh, of course I am!" Despite growing up in a place where winter was still a season, Riana had never ice skated in her life.
Misato laughed at the increasingly flustered look on Asuka's face. "Riana's got a lot of talents, you know," Misato winked.
Riana took Shinji's hand. "It's really not that tough," she assured him with false confidence. "Just follow my lead, Shinji-kun." She grinned at Asuka. "Soryu-san? Want me to teach you too?" she asked.
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Does that really deserve the dignity of being taught? Ice skating?"
Once inside, Riana switched out her shoes for ice skates. To her surprise, she was also wearing a rather short dress, shorter than any she had ever worn, and knee-high striped red and black socks, almost leggings, similar to what she had seen other girls at school wear. Riana did not own socks like that. Yet she did not feel embarrassed. She felt rather free, actually. The chill of the ice rink was welcome after the often oppressive heat of Japan.
Riana took hold of either side of the entrance, took a tentative step onto the ice, and…did not fall. She leaned forward, in the manner she had seen ice skaters do on television, and moved ahead, one foot after another. She did not fall. She did not even wobble. It was as if she had been ice skating all her life. Riana laughed with sheer exhiliration as she began going in wide circles across the rink, effortlessly avoiding the few other skaters on the ice.
Behind her, Rei and Shinji also moved out onto the ice. Rei tried to emulate Riana, and promptly slipped and fell backwards onto her rear end with a very un-Rei like yell. Shinji tried to get over to her, and fell on his face.
Bidden by some instinct she could not understand, Riana decided to show off. She skated over to Shinji and Rei, then threw herself into a double axel, twisting in midair twice—though it ended up being more like one and a half, and the landing was by no means perfect. But she did not fall.
"Wow," was all Shinji and Rei said.
"It was okay," Riana told them, the confidence real now. "There was a little bit of a gap there. Not really up to 'wow' level." She easily went over to them. "Are you two all right?"
"Yeah," Shinji answered, "but that was pretty awesome, Arashikaze-san."
Riana smiled. Abruptly, she realized that her dress had fluttered upwards during the double axel, which meant it was highly likely Shinji had seen her panties. Then Riana also realized that she didn't care.
There was a muttered curse behind her. "How about you, Soryu-san?" Riana asked.
Asuka was hanging onto the rail for dear life. Her legs seemed to be intent on going their separate ways. Sweat shone on her face, and the expression she gave Riana was a mixture of desperation and pure poison.
Riana was not above twisting the knife. "Soryu-san, if you cling to the rail, that limits you to a zone of about two feet wide on the outside of the—"
"Will you shut up?!" Asuka shrilled. Defiantly, she moved away from the rail and got her legs under control. She wobbled a little. "It's fine," Asuka said, as much to reassure herself than the others. "All this requires is a little intelligence—" And with that, her legs went out from under her, and Asuka made a three point landing—feet, knees, and face. She lay on the ice for a moment, then was back on her skates with remarkable speed. Her face was red, with a combination of anger and pain. "This is so stupid!" she shouted, and the entire rink clearly heard her. "I've had enough!" She skated for the exit.
Riana was about to say that Asuka's anger was smoothing out her skating quite well, but Shinji beat her to the punch. "Wait, Asuka! You're doing it now—" Down went Asuka. She caught herself on her elbows this time, and a flood of soft cursing filled the air.
Misato drifted out onto the ice, as home on it as any expert—which for all Riana knew, Misato was. "At first, it's going to seem impossible," she told Asuka, "but you're definitely the type who excels once they get a grip on the basics."
Asuka struggled to her feet. "Yeah? What if I don't care?"
Riana turned her back on Asuka. "It's impossible for her, Misato. Asuka's a quitter." Riana's words were said slowly, deliberately, and she threw a savage grin at Asuka over her shoulder.
Asuka purpled. "That's it! You're going down!" She threw herself forward, stayed upright, and came after her.
"That's more like it!" Riana taunted. "Now try and catch me, Asuka!" She sprinted out of reach down the rink. After a few seconds, Riana had to turn to avoid the rail, and went into a long arc. To her surprise, Asuka not only was still on her skates, she cut across Riana's arc to cut her off. Riana was still faster, but Asuka halved the distance. Now in a stern chase, she did more than halve the distance—Asuka closed it. "Three meters, Riana," she chanted. "Two!" Asuka's hands reached out to grab her, and just missed. The expression on her face left no doubt that, if she caught Riana, the other girl was going to be demolished.
Damn, Riana thought to herself, I knew Asuka was athletic, but I didn't think she'd master skating that fast. Hell, for that matter, I didn't know I was that good at it myself. Once more, Asuka's hands reached out. Riana gave herself a slight burst of speed, but it was only a moment's reprieve. Assuming Asuka didn't close the distance, Riana would have to turn soon, otherwise she would mow down both Shinji and Rei, who still remained close to the rail. She got a gloriously fun, evil idea. Sorry, kids.
Riana leaned over, almost if she was going to fall, and threw out her left hand. She used it as leverage to spin herself around, instantly switching direction to turn directly into Asuka, but to one side. Riana was back up vertical in a second, as Asuka's skates sliced through where Riana's hand had been a moment before. "Hey!" Asuka protested. "I can't turn that fast—" There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh in a violent collision. Riana pirouetted in place and bit her lip at the tableaux in front of her.
Rei had managed to catch Asuka, and both of them leaned against the rail in the world's most awkward hug, Rei's legs on either side of Asuka's. Shinji was flat on his back, taken down by Asuka, face up between them…with his face planted squarely in Asuka's crotch, red and white striped panties out for the world to see.
There was silence for the count of ten, then Asuka exploded, "What are you doing down there? Baka Shinji! I can't believe you! You turn something as innocent as ice skating into a perverted display of…" She raised her right fist as Shinji managed to get himself out from under Asuka. "I don't even know why I bother hitting you anymore!"
Shinji somehow stood up and faced Asuka. "You were aiming for me, isn't that right, Asuka?" he said accusingly.
This can't be happening, Riana said. That's impossible. This is utterly ridiculous. I can ice skate all of a sudden, Rei has more than one expression, Asuka and Shinji are fighting like they're married—I've never seen Shinji stand up to her like that, except in combat—and they're all speaking in Japanese, and yet I can understand them like I've been speaking the language all my life…at least I guess they're speaking in Japanese; it seems like English to me. It's almost as if… She laughed aloud. Of course. This is a dream. This is a stupid dream. Shinji and Asuka were now facing her, Rei staring at her shoes, a blush spread across her face. Riana laughed again and threw caution to the wind. Oh, the hell with it.
"That's not fair!" Riana yelled. "I want in too!" She launched herself at Shinji in a spear a pro wrestler would be proud to call their own. He was driven backwards onto the ice, his head now sliding neatly under Rei's dress, with Asuka once more awkwardly holding onto Rei, her face next to hers that in one more millimeter would result in a kiss. Riana hugged Shinji, enjoying the heat of his body. Alarms began going off, as Misato skated over to them, remarking that this was their most complicated arrangement yet…
…and the alarms became the insistent trill of her clock radio. Riana blearily opened her eyes, glanced over, and saw that it was 5:30 AM. She had thirty minutes to get ready, get to the station, and catch the train to NERV for another round of training.
Riana lay in bed for a moment, her mind still trying to figure out which part was the dream—the ridiculous things that Kazuko Bishamon had told her, or the equally ridiculous dream of the ice rink and decidedly out of character Rei, Shinji and Asuka…well, Riana thought, maybe not Asuka.
She threw herself out of the bed—she didn't remember putting on her pajamas, but they were on—and stumbled into the closet that passed for the bathroom. She retrieved her toothbrush and looked in the mirror…and blinked. Her long brown hair was a mess, her normal bangs askew as if a manga artist had drawn her wrong. That seemed strange. She could have sworn that she had short hair, cut in a style similar to Rei's. No…she correct herself. That was the dream. I've always worn my hair long…haven't I?